Bales' most recent research investigated the effect of inmate visitation on recidivism. He found that inmates who have visitors are significantly less likely to re-offend after prison release. The more often they have visits and having visits closer to release have a considerable positive effect on successful community re-entry.
His other recent research has examined the contextual characteristics of the locations where prisoners return after release from prison and assessed the effectiveness of electronic monitoring for offenders placed on community supervision.
Bales was recently honored for his work on labeling theory. His paper, along with FSU criminologist Ted Chiricos and recent Ph.D graduates Kelle Barrick and Stephanie Bontrager was selected as the winner of the American Society of Criminology's Outstanding Paper Award. Their paper “The Labeling of Convicted Felons and Its Consequences for Recidivism,” published in Criminology (45: 547–582) showed that convicted felons in Florida who had the formal certification of guilt, “adjudication,” withheld by the sentencing judge, were significantly less likely to recidivate in a two-year follow-up period than those for whom the felony convict label was formally applied. These labeling effects were stronger for those who reached the age of 30 without a prior conviction.
Bill Bales
Associate Professor
850-644-7113
wbales@fsu.edu
Education
Ph.D. 1987, Florida State University; Criminology
M.S. 1977, Florida State University; Criminology
B.S. 1975, Florida State University; Sociology
Courses Taught
- Introduction to Research Methods
- Corrections
- Research Methods in Sentencing and Corrections
- Research Methods in Criminology
- Applied Statistics in Criminology III
Research Interests
- Sentencing
- Assessing the effectiveness and consequences of punishment strategies
- Evaluation of correctional practices and programs
- Community re-entry
Select Publications
- Reisig, Michael D., William D. Bales, Carter Hay, and Xia Wang. 2007. “The Effect of Racial Inequality on Black Male Recidivism” Justice Quarterly 4(3): 408-434.
- Bales, William D., Shanna Van Slyke, and Thomas G. Blomberg. 2006. “Substance Abuse Treatment in Prison and Community Re-Entry: Breaking the Cycle of Drugs, Crime, Incarceration, and Recidivism.” Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy 13(2): 383-401.
- Bontrager, Stephanie, William D. Bales, and Ted Chiricos. 2005. “Race, Ethnicity, Threat, and the Labeling of Convicted Felons.” Criminology 43:589-622.
- Padgett, Kathy G., William D. Bales, and Thomas G. Blomberg. 2005. “Under Surveillance: An Empirical Test of the Effectiveness and Consequences of Electronic Monitoring.” Criminology & Public Policy 5(1):61-92.
- Bales, William D., Laura E. Bedard, Susan T. Quinn, David T. Ensley, and Glen P. Holley. 2005. “Recidivism of Public and Private State Prison Inmates in Florida.” Criminology & Public Policy 4(1).
- Burton, Susan E., Matthew Finn, Debra Livingston, Kristen Scully, William D. Bales, and Kathy Padgett. Spring 2004. “Applying a Crime Seriousness Scale to Measure Changes in the Severity of Offenses by Individuals Arrested in Florida.” Justice Research & Policy 6(1):1-18.
Grants
- "An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Electronic Monitoring for Medium and High Risk Offenders on Supervision and Post-Supervision Outcomes." A $281,978 project funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (September 2007-February 2008).
- “Youth Violence Prevention Project”, A $75,000 project funded by the Palm Beach County Criminal Justice Commission, April 2005 to May 2006.
- “Fiscal Impact and Public Safety Effects of Proposed Attorney General's Bill: Forcible Felony Violator”, $15,600, funded by the Florida Attorney General's Office, December 1, 2005 to March 30, 2005.
- “The Impact of PRIDE on Post-Release Employment and Recidivism”, $25,000, funded by the Prison Rehabilitative Industries and Diversified Enterprises, Inc., June 1, 2004 to August 30, 2004.
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